under the microscope

Friday, June 30, 2006

Friday morning. Just another reminder of how quickly time goes by. Last night, Rick the weather announcer told us that there would be 1 minute less daylight today than there was yesterday. ... Seems like we just celebrated Summer Solstice. I'm also reminded to take in and make the most of every moment just because they pass so quickly,and are likely to never pass this way again.

****

It's been a mixed bag of weather we've had this week; plenty of rain interrupted with precious sunshine, hot and muggy/cool and muggy, windy and calm. There has been little if any serious flooding in our neck of the woods. There has been serious flooding south of us which I hope doesn't prevent the kids from making it home this week-end.

****

I was on call Wednesday and earned the DOAC yesterday. Slept in and didn't do the Thur. run. I did walk to the hosp. and back (returning the beeper-- barnicle). I put an epidural in a primip at 0030 and for sure expected to -section her in the wee hours of the morn, but she pushed the little bugger out with 3 hours of pushing at 0600.

I have to make up the run today, now that I'm well rested. I'll start in a few minutes.

Yerterday's visit to the homestead showed everything progressing nicely; bumper crop of apples this year, bunches of blueberries and raspberries are starting to ripen.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Dawn serenade.Philip Larkin (1922-1985)I work all day, and get half-drunk at night.Waking at four to soundless dark, I stare.In time the curtain-edges will grow light.Till then I see what's really always there:Unresting death, a whole day nearer now,Making all thought impossible but howAnd where and when I shall myself die.Arid interrogation: yet the dreadOf dying, and being dead,Flashes afresh to hold and horrify.The mind blanks at the glare. Not in remorse-- The good not done, the love not given, timeTorn off unused -- nor wretchedly becauseAn only life can take so long to climbClear of its wrong beginnings, and may never;But at the total emptiness for ever,The sure extinction that we travel toAnd shall be lost in always. Not to be here,Not to be anywhere,And soon; nothing more terrible, nothing more true.This is a special way of being afraidNo trick dispels. Religion used to try,That vast moth-eaten musical brocadeCreated to pretend we never die,And specious stuff that says No rational beingCan fear a thing it will not feel, not seeingThat this is what we fear -- no sight, no sound,No touch or taste or smell, nothing to think with,Nothing to love or link with,The anaesthetic from which none come round.And so it stays just on the edge of vision,A small unfocused blur, a standing chillThat slows each impulse down to indecision.Most things may never happen: this one will,And realisation of it rages outIn furnace-fear when we are caught withoutPeople or drink. Courage is no good:It means not scaring others. Being braveLets no one off the grave.Death is no different whined at than withstood.Slowly light strengthens, and the room takes shape.It stands plain as a wardrobe, what we know,Have always known, know that we can't escape,Yet can't accept. One side will have to go.Meanwhile telephones crouch, getting ready to ringIn locked-up offices, and all the uncaring Intricate rented world begins to rouse.The sky is white as clay, with no sun.Work has to be done.Postmen like doctors go from house to house.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Ran 4 miles in the pouring rain at 0500. Drove to work because of the rain, good thing I took along my umbrella---walking the 2 blocks to the hospital from the car I encountered severe driving rain. Certainly we are not experiencing the severity of rain and flooding south of us along the eastcoast. Here the lush greenery, flower beds,and lawns are a delight to look at. There are flood warnings for us.

I've read many of Michael Crichton's novels and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. As much as I admire him as an author, I'm sorely disappointed in his novel State of Fear. I believe that global warming is a fact. His book undermines efforts to find causes and solutions. Being intelligent doesn't make one smart.

Heavy with fatigue today; maybe stress, heat, and humidity. Slept from 1030 to 1530. Felt good during afternoon and evening.After going home to get the mail, feed the cats, weed the garden, I raced this storm back to camp. Lot's of wind, and rain.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Monday, another beginning. The forecast is for rain for most if not all of the week. That taken into consideration, I decided not to bike to work this morning. No rain yet today!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow I'll ride regardless.

Not everyday can be a great day. In the greater scheme of life my day was better than some and better than a lot of other peoples. That said, I have been plagued by an overriding feeling of fatique and general malaise all day. I got back to camp at around 1500 after going home to feed the cats and put the trash out. I was so tired, I lay down on the bed and promptly fell asleep and slept for 2+ hours.

When I got up, Tom was here to replace a burner on the stove that burned up during breakfast prep yesterday. As the evening wore on my level of energy has remained low. Perhaps it's the medicine I started taking friday. Wait and see.

On the upside; I walked and did strength training this AM at 0500. The shower washed the weekend scuz off and it felt good to scrape off the two day growth of whiskers. Breakfast was wholesome and satisfying. My patients did well. Looking forward to a better day tomorrow!

Sunday, June 25, 2006

The perfect summer day. Cool morning, great for running, 11 miles today. Diane kayaked while I was running. The river was smooth. Laid back day, reading paper and books. I did the grocery shopping for the day. We bar-b-qued chicken and Italian sausage, along with a medly of summer squash, zucchini, onions, red peppers, and garlic-----mmmmm--good.

Today is a peculiarly delightful day in face of the fact that yesterday( Friday the 23rd) was an extremely disappointing day. Although dinner with B&D and our comical interaction with our waitress, Josie was the bright spot in an otherwise pitiful day.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I've decided to keep this blog as upbeat and positive. Criticism, complaining, ranting and grumbling about the unfairness of life circumstances will be allocated to my "anger-management "blog.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Slept in 'til 0600 today.....too bad; the sunrise must have been spectacular. But the extra sleep was also. The river was smooth as glass and has remained so through-out all of the day, interupted only by the ripples and waves created by the numerous and varied water craft.

Previous plans for the day were shunted aside in favor of enjoying the paxil like effects of a long paddle on a quiet river.. I did partake of yesterday's coffee, reheated in the zapper-wave. Took my pills (asa 81s x2, vits., etc.), made and ate a peanut butter on whole wheat bread sandwich, checked my e-mail, and read some of my favorite blogs (if they had been updated).

As I exited the camp, sans equipment for the moment, the aura of the morning infused my being with serenity and peace. I noticed the neighbors youngest daughter out on their dock with a fishing line in the water. I wondered what she might do if she actually caught one......she eeks and shreiks when she encounters a minnow when wading in the water.

Suitably inspired, I returned to the camp to gather my gear and made for the river.

I entered the kayak and made it one with my body. As we easily glided into the water that reliable sense of calm relaxation filled every fiber of my being. At once, I was one with the universe. Paddleing down river, I encounter a number of folks fishing from docks and piers, and a few were in their boats. In one boat I thought I recognized one of the anglers. And , in fact it was a woman from the OB department at the hospital. Her husband, who was with her, Is an old high school classmate of mine. A little serendipity to add to a great beginning. Next, we (my kayak an I) turned into the bay that, in my youth, was the public bathing beach.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Another beautiful day is dawning. Do you get the impression thatmornings are my best time? It's a walk and strngth day. Vitals: 66F, 75% humidity. 5mph nnw. The birds are singing their morning welcome to the sun god. Le riv is a little ripply today, but not rough by any means.

____________________________________________

I sent a birthday greeting to my bro a few minutes ago. He turned 51 on Tues. I'm late with greetings more than not. I am usually late wishing my sister Happy Birthday (she was born on my 12th b'day). She on the other hand is never late with any card for anything. Not a good reflexion on me for sure!

Yesterday's coffee is pretty tasty this AM. There is an interesting article in the NYT this morn about buying a pied de terre in France,(Paris in Particular). Cost in Paris, depending on arrondisement, runs fron 700+ to 1025 Euros/foot. Of course these are just vacation homes and you rent them out by the week or so the rest of the year. Unless I win the lottery, I'll be renting rather than buying. Which remindsm, I have to stop today and get a lottery ticket. High odds, but no buy, no win.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Morning is breaking; Thur. run approaching (6 mile). River calm. Temp. @ 64 F. w. 84% humidity (did I mention Sunday how hard it is to extract O2 from wet air, espscially when running.) No, I think the computer froze up and I lost my post, so I just put the pictures back without the accompanying dialog. Alor, the forecast is calling for Rain, actually, tunderstorms this AM. 60%. The high perdicted @ 85F.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Summer Solstice;

People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the summer solstice. On this day, typically JUN-21, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a minimum. It is officially the first day of summer. It is also referred to as Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season throughout much of Europe. http://www.religioustolerance.org/summer_solstice.htm"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."(In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice is celebrated in December, also when the night time is at a minimum and the daytime is at a maximum.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I suspect that summer weather may be always ushered in in a similar manner -- thundershower, rainbow, smooth water and warm night. A rainbow on the brow of summer.Henry David Thoreau------------------------------------------------ The summer broke this morning idyllically; clear sky, calm, mirror-like river, (inviting my kayak, but alas, I remained on call 'til 0700) and cool at 59 degrees. Today is a walking, strength trng. day. At 0702 I'm off! Walking, carrying my camera, and over dressed as usual; long running pants + black hooded sweat shirt.I did 4 miles in a little under 1 hour. My strength trng took place on the dock; push-ups, crunches, tricep push-ups on picnic table bench, and rubber band bicep curls. Amazingly, such a simple routine gave me a great pump.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Summer is a new song everyone is humming.Diane Ackerman, Cultivating Delight

Since it's DOAC, I'm off to the garden at home and Diane is off to work.(for some reason unknown to me Blogger has decided that I've loaded enough photo for this post; it won't let me add any additional.)

At home I tended to the kitties inside and cultivated the garden outside.Returned to camp and went kayaking. The river was a bit rough and 1 hr. was too long to paddle in rough water this early in my conditioning.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Good news from Erin: Hi- You may have already heard this but I figured I would drop you a line anyway. The dreaded bill has been blocked by our conference. We along with some majority members had enough votes to prevent it from coming out of committee. Who ever your lobbyist is, did a good job with pointing out the bad things in the bill. At least you don't have to worry about it this year, but there is always next. Good thing is our members didn't like the bill---it helps with stalling it in committee. Hope all is well- Erin

Placid river tonight. The Blue Heron stopped by for a short time. Nice sunset. Bucolic.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Sunday, June 18, 2006

transmogrify \trans-MOG-ruh-fy\, transitive verb:To change into a different shape or to transform, often with bizarre or humorous effect.

A washing machine transmogrified into a guitar.-- Adrian Searle, "Come, friendly pigeons", The Guardian, March 16, 2000For the impulsive sin of turning to look back at the funereal pyre of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's wife is transmogrified into a pillar of salt as she flees the inferno.-- Elizabeth Wurtzel, Bitch: In Praise of Difficult WomenRoast chicken is still roast chicken whether you label it haute cuisine, bourgeois cuisine or country cooking; even calling it "poulet roti" will not transmogrify this simple bird.-- Jacques Pepin, "The Chicken Dinner, Both Humble and Noble", New York Times, January 4, 1989

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Awoke aroung 0500 to sounds of thunder and pourining rain. Sporadic flashes of lightening lit up the bed room.

Renewed vows :-) I disembarked the coucher, while Diane snuggled back under the covers for a few more moments of sleep.

See rainy morning photo.

I washed yesterday's dishes, poured myself the rest of yesterday's coffee and reheated it in the microwave. Made a new pot of coffee, took photo's of rainy morning. Next, while drinking coffee, went on line to check e-mail (nothing of note there). Perused CNN and NY Times online.

Coffee. .

Diane left for home with a basket full of dirty clothes to launder. And I stayed to make this entry in the blog. I'll be tailing along shortly so as to take my shower etc. at home.

In my routine purusal of blogs (next blog), I find very few that are as interesting as my own. Many are in languages other than english; I particularly like the french ones so I can practice reading and trying to understand. I do the same with the spanish entries, but not as diligently as with the french. Also, It seems that, more (blogs) are started but not continued for long, some have only one entry. Ah! Human nature and good intentions---Been there myself.

Tata, a plus tard, CUL8R.

Keeping your individuality is more important than living up to other people's expectations. - Unknown

Friday, June 16, 2006

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Day is done. The bed beckons. Accomplished all planned tasks today, but no kayaking. The day was warm and sunny, but as long as the sun shone on the river it was too rough for a pleasure paddle. It's calm and serene now as it was this morn.

-------------------------------------------------

Went to the house in m'twn, petted and fed the pussy-cats. Cleaned the litter boxes. Opened the porch for them. I cleaned out the purple myrtle under the linden tree and then spread 4 bags of cedar mulch underneath; Looks much improve (more aesthetic.) Took the weed whip to the area between the grape vines. Wow, what an over grown mess, but I made some good progress and it'll need further follow-up soon; maybe this weekend :-) I inflated the wheel barrow wheel (seems to deflate every year.) I cleaned and filled the garden fountain and put the figurine atop it. Straightened out the hose. Fixed myself a cheese sandwich at home (no other choices). Then went to cemetery in 'burg to install border pieces around flower bed at mom and dad's stone. And it looks really good. Watered eveything (10 trips to the well). Onto Hacketts to buy some replacemet tools After 30 years the weed whip, pruning clippers, and garden cultivator bit the dust so to speak. All in all, they have served me well.

==================================================================

Supper alone, (turkey sandwhich and 2 glasses of chianti), Di to h2otwn for honda service. Talked to Michelle about Erin's sister, and the NYSANA golf fund raiser. E-mailed Kathy with Michelle's suggestions. Di home around eight. We shared our day, I took some photos, and now to bed to rest up for run and work tomorrow.

Morning is breaking at camp. Wed. morn and the start of my call day. The reward will come with the day off after call (doac) tomorrow(Thur.). Ran 5 miles at first light (0500). Drove car to hosp. so as not to tempt fate. For sure, if I'd biked in, the day would have brought sufficient add-ons to have me choosing to bike back in the dark. Got back at 1800. Dodged the call bullet (no call-ins) last night. It's currently 0720 and I'm officially off call and starting the doac. The day is starting: cool, sunny-bright, calm, (before the sun hits it, the river is like a mirror. After 0700 when the sun is fully on it the river becomes rippley) . The forecast is for a great day. Too many choices: Probably Home to do some gardening, Of course some kayaking at some point, maybe eat something and play it by ear ( oh yah, take some border makers to the cemetery to finish up the planting at mom and dad's stone.)

"What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubts-- it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else."

Hal Boyle

The black spot at the top of the photo is a ego-centic flycatcher bird wanting to be in the picture.

About Me

Links

Zaccharias is a scholarly lion_____
Seeking, peeking behind
The scenes, through the lens
Curious like his namesake, and his
Father before him.
For Zaccharias, information
Is like meat
For other lions.
His mane reflects the
Microscopic images he
Finds and records.
You can not hide
Under the microscope.